Method and apparatus for lacing thread-advancing rotors



June 4, 1957 c. D. VANDENBURGH ETAL 2,794,542

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LACING THREAD-ADVANCING ROTORS Filed July 21, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 4, 1957 c. D. VANDENBURGH ETAL 2,794,542

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LACING THREAD-ADVANCING ROTORS Filed July 21, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LACING THREAD-ADVAWCING ROTORS Charles D. Vandenburgh, Charlestown, Md., and Harry E. Pape, Norwood, -Pa., assignors to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware 7 Application July 21 1953, Serial No. 369,442

8 Claims. (Cl. 203-65) This invention is concerned with the processing and handling of continuous strands, such as continuous bundles of freshly formed artificially produced filaments by means of thread-advancing devices comprising two or more rotors, at least one of which is disposed for rotation about an axis inclined to that of the other. The invention is particularly concerned with a method and apparatus to facilitate the lacing up of such rotor systems. The present application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 280,128, filed April 2, 1952 and now abandoned which isin turn a continuationin-part of our application Serial No. 230,644, filed June 8, 1951, now abandoned.

It has heretofore been proposed to lace up such rotor systems by providing a flexible band, such as of rubber, adjacent the receiving end of the system. Inone system proposed heretofore, the leading end of the strand to be laced upon the system was caught upon a portion of the belt and the belt was allowed to progress from the receiving end to the discharging end of the system while leading the strand along. 7 In another system, the belt was retained in a groove or behind a flange on each of the rollers adjacent the receiving end thereof and after a number of convolution of the strand were built up on the belt, these convolutions were slid off the belt and out of the groove or over the flange so that this aggregate of convolutions of the strand itself served to lead the strand over the rolls to lace them up.

Both of these systems have disadvantages. With the first system, the belt is discharged from the rotor system at the end of each lacing operation and it is necessary to reapply the belt over the discharging end to the receiving end of the rotor system each time it is necessary to relace the'system. In the latter system, thread convolutions become caught between the belt and the groove or flange on the rotors and it is frequently very diflicult to slip the thread convolutions neatly oi the belt onto the rollers. When stray filaments from the strand are left extending back from the rotor surface to the belt, there is a tendency to withdraw other filaments from the strand with the ultimate rupture thereof.

i The primary object of the present invention is to provide methods and apparatus for lacing up such rotor systems in which thedisadvantages of the previously suggested methods are overcome.

- In the drawing which is illustrative of the invention,

' Figure l is a side elevation showing one embodiment,

Figure 2 is an end view of the embodiment of Figure l, Figure 3 is a side elevation showing a more advanced stage of the lacing-up operation,

Figure 4 is an end view of a modification, l Figure 5 isaside elevation of a modification,

Figure 6 is a. side elevation of another modification, Figure 6a is a side elevation of another modification, 1 Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modified system, .;Figure 8 is a partial side elevation of a modified belt, .,Figure 9 is a side elevation of another embodiment,

. S at Patent ice Figure 10 is a section on line X--X of Figure 9, and

Figure 11 is a side view of a preferred form of belt used in the embodiment of Figures 9 and 10.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the invention is illustrated in conjunction with a thread-advancing rotor system comprising rotors 3 and 4 mounted for rotation by means of shafts 5 and 6, the axes of which are inclined with respect to one another. As specifically shown, the axes are disposed horizontally but the axis of the lower roll 4 is inclined out of a vertical plane containing the axis of the upper roller 3. The shafts 5 and 6 may be rotatably supported within bearings 7 and 8 respectively and one or more of the rotors may be driven, such as by means of one or more gears 8a.

The rotors may be surrounded by a deflecting hood or housing 9 supported on a fixed frame member 10. Such a hood may be used when liquids are applied to the helix of the strand carried about the rollers, the liquid being applied in any suitable manner such as by means of a spray pipe 11 provided with nozzles 12 disposed just above the lower rotor. A guide 13 may be provided to control the direction of approach of the strand as it is fed or drawn to the rotor system.

The arrangement as so far described is conventional and may be replaced by any conventional system used for advancing a strand through a helical path for liquid processing, drying or merely for storing with or without application of heat, gases or liquids While the rotors are shown a being cylindrical, they may be tapered to effect shrinkage or stretching of the strand, or they may be provided with certain sections which are cylindrical and others which are tapered, all in conventional manner.

To facilitate the lacing of the system, the rotors 3 and 4 are provided with grooves 14 and 15 adjacent their strand receiving ends outside of the zones of the rotors which normally carry the helix of the strand. A belt 16 ride in the grooves and is provided with one or more projections or hooks 17. The projections 17 may merely project outwardly in a radial direction as shown in Fig. 7. If desired, they may be hooked as shown in Fig. 8. Alternatively, the projections may extend laterally from the belt in a direction toward the discharge end of the rotor system as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 6. The projection or hook 17 may be formed of a rigid material but for safety purposes, it is preferable to form it of a soft material, such as a vulcanized rubber which will give in case an operators'finger or hand should be struck by it. Nevertheless, it should have sufficient stiffness that it is not greatly deflected from its normal position by the strand. The system may also be provided with a pin 18, This pin is not an absolutely necessary element but its use is preferred as will be explained hereinafter.

' In lacing up the rotor system, the leading end of the strand S is drawn through the guide 13 and then drawn along a path divergent with respect to its normal path to the strand-receiving position of the rotor 3 extending over the region or zone of the rotor system traversed by the projection 17 until such projection seizes the strand. For example, the operator may lift the leading end of the strand through the guide 13 and over the top of the rotor 3 in the region or zone thereof just to the right of the groove 14 as viewed in Figure 1. When the projection, or one of them when a plurality thereof are provided, passes around the top of the rotor 3, it catches the strand and carries the leading end thereof about the two rotors. Each time the portion of the strand trailing from the projection 17 makes a complete cycle about the two rotors, it is advanced so that the portion of the strand extending from the most advanced convolution of the helix back to the projection 17 takes a sharply inclined pathas indicated at 20 in Figure 3. When the pin 18 is disposed in the path of the helix as shown, the most advanced convolution is stopped by such pin and succeeding convolutions proceed to that convolution and pile up thereon until the disposition shown in Figure 3 is attained in which a portion 29 of the strand extends from the projection 17 to the leading band or convolution which is underneath a group of convolutions. There may be one or more convolutions of the helix extending between the leading band and the guide 13 although only one such convolution is represented, the number thereof actually present depending upon the pitch of the system and the space between the guide 13 and the pin 18 measured in a direction parallel to the axis of the system. i

When pin 18 is not provided adjacent the receiving end of the system, the portion 20 of the strand would extend clear up to the leading convolution of the helix.

Whether or not the pin 18 is present, the portion 20 of the strand is severed adjacent the projection 17, or detached therefrom, after at least several convolutions of the helix are disposed over that portion 20. This severmice may be effected by the operator or merely by letting a sufliciently large band of filaments be built up, such as next to pin 18, that the pull by such band detaches the portion 20 from the projection 17 or severs it near the projection. When this severance occurs, the strand proceeds to the discharge end of the rotor system where it may be picked oft by the operator and fed to the next operation. It will be noted that after the portion 29 is severed from the projection 17, such as by a pick or other tool which may cut, tear, or break the strand, this portion 20 proceeds to one of the rotors. If it first comes upon the upper rotor because of severance near such rotor, the loose end may be carried on around under the surface of that rotor instead of proceeding with the other convolutions down to the lower rotor. Again, it may fall to the lower rotor or it may first come upon the lower rotor because of the particular location of severance and instead of following the other convolutions to the upper rotor, it may proceed around the lower rotor. Whether the loose end 20 proceeds around with the helical convolutions or clings to one of the rotors instead, depends upon the character of the surface of the rotor, the nature of the strand, as well as the condition (that is the nature and amount of liquid content or extent of dryness). If the conditions are such that the strand 20 proceeds along with the convolutions of the yarn about the *two rotors instead of clinging to one of them only, the pin 18 is unnecessary and it is unnecessary to take special precaution to sever the strand 20 very quickly after lace-up so that there is only a short length of the strand portion 20 extending from projection 17 to the leading convolution of the helix. 7

However, it is preferred to provide a pin 18 to avoid any possibility that the condition, in which the strand portion 20 follows one of the rotors, will arise. By providing pin 18 and assuring the build-up of a number of convolutions on top of one another and on top of the leading convolution of the helix, the strand portion 20 will be carried around by the strand build-up even though it tends to fall away from the other individual convolutions of the helix. The location of the pin 18 may vary considerably but generally depends upon the spacing between the rotors and upon the location of the projection 17. It is merely necessary to so locate the pin 18 that the length of the strand portion 20 from the projection 17 to the leading convolution does not exceed the sum of the radius of one of the rotors and the peripheral are through a quadrant of the rotor surface. Preferably, the sum of these distances should be greater than the length of strand portion 20.

When using the pin 18 for lacing up, the operator catches the leading end of the strand on the projection 17 as before, and when a number of convolutions have been built up upon the leading convolution of the helix,

the strand portion 20 is severed adjacent projection 17 or detached therefrom and pin 18 is retracted out of the way of the helix so that the build-up band may proceed to the discharge end of the rotor system. This retraction can be facilitated by mounting the .pin reciprocably within a bore in the hood 9 so that it may be pulled outwardly from the position shown in Figure 2. When the leading band of convolutions reaches the end of the rotor system, the operator may pick it oil? by hand or 'by a tool and then form a new leading end to supply to the next processing operation.

A modified procedure may be used when the pin'18 is employed which involves the additional step of pushing the built-up convolutions toward the receivingrend of the rotor system so that all of the convolutions of the helix extending from guide 13 are bunched up together, thereby further shortening the free lengthof the strand 20 extending from the built-up band back to the projec tion 17. After thus pushing back the built-up band, severing or detaching strand portion 20 from projection 17, and removing the pin 18, the band may be allowed to proceed to the end of the rotor system as before.

In Figure 4, there is shown a modified system in which the pin 18 is replaced with a hinged plate 21 pivotally mounted on a stationary frame member 22 which is provided with a spring latch 23. In this system, after sever: ing the strand portion 20 from the projection 17, the operator merely deflects the latch 23 downwardly which allows the built-up band of convolutions to push the plate 21 about its axis and out of the way.

Figure 5 shows a modification in which the rotors 3 and 4 are not themselves provided with grooves 14 and 15 but instead, pulleys 0r sprockets 24 and 25 are keyed to the shafts 5 and 6 respectively adjacent the strand-receiving end of the rotors. A belt or chain 26 engages about the pulleys or sprockets and one or more lateral projections or hooks 27 extend from the belt or chain 26.

In Figure 6, a modification is shown in which the rotors 3 and 4 are provided with flanges 28 and 29 instead of grooves 14 and 15 in order to keep the belt 30 and the hook 17 in the region of the rotors adjacent to but outside of the normal strand-receiving and strand-carrying positions.

Figure 6a shows :a modification similar to Figure 6 but instead of providing flanges 28 and 29, the periphery of each rotor comprises a strand-receiving portion 3a and 4a respectively, a belt-receiving portion 3b and 4b of somewhat smaller diameter than portion 3a and 4a with a shoulder 30 and 4c therebetween. The belt 30 rides against the shoulders and carries one or more projections 17. Fixed supports 7a and 8a may be provided adjacent the ends of rotors 3 and 4 and disposed radially inward of their peripheries to retain the belt in a condition of rest (dotted outline) when it is slid off the end portion 3b and 4b of the rotors between lacing operations as described more particularly hereinbelow.

While supports 7a. and. 8a may simply be fixed pins, rods, or plates secured to any fixed element such as the frame of the machine, they are shown as extensions of the bearings 7 and 8 for shafts 5 and 6. When the rotors 3 and 4 are in vertical alignment, as shown, the member 8a may be omitted.

In Figure 7, the rotors 3 and 4 are mounted on shafts 5 and 6 which are canted, with respect to each other and project from suitable driving mechanism (not shown) in the housing or casing 40 for supporting as many pairs of rotors as desired in a row. As shown, the projections 17 extend radially from the belt 16, being either in the form of cylindrical or tapered rubber elements, preferably integral with the belt, the hooked types of Figs. 1 to 3 and 8 may be used instead. The arm 18:: (corresponding to the pin 18 of the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 3, 5 and 6)' extends outwardly from the round rod 30 which is rotatable on its axis in the cleats or bearings 31. A link 32 is pivotally connected, at one end to the bent extension or arm 33 of the rod 30, and-at the other endto the arm 34 of a bell crank lever, the other arm 35 of: which serves as a handle for the operator. The bell crank lever is pivoted at 36 and when the operator desires to throw the pin or arm 18a into or out of the path of the yarn convolutions, he merely grasps the lever arm 35 and swings it into the position shown or in the direction of the dotted arrow respectively. This lever system enables an operator to control the pin 18a from a position on either side of the housing 30. Thus a thread or yarn may proceed from a godet 37 and be directed by the operator t the projections 17 on the belt 16 while the lever system is in the position shown. After the yarn bundle is built up by the pin 18a and the strand portion 20 is severed or detached from the projection 17, the pin 18a is swung out of the way to allow the bundle to proceed to the discharge end of the rotors as described in the other embodiments.

In the preceding embodiments of Figures 6 and 6a, the belt after completion of the lacing operation may be forced off the receiving end of the rotors such as by pushing against one side of the belt with a rod or other tool with sufficient force to cause it to be moved away from flanges 28 and 29 (Fig. 6) or from shoulders 3c and 40 (Fig. 6a) until the belt is discharged oil the ends ofthe rotors onto the adjacent shafts (Figure 6) or bearings therearound (Figure 6a). In Figure 6a, suitable shrouds or bearing housings 7a and 8a are fixedly mounted around the shafts and 6 so as to project into proximity with the thread-receiving ends of the rotors. Such shrouds would, of course, support the belt in a position of' rest while the machine is operating and reduce the wear on the belt while storing it outside the zone of liquid treatment so that corrosion thereof is greatly reduced or eliminated. Even if the shrouds are omitted so that the belt rides on the rotating shafts 5 and 6 as in Figure 6, corrosion is reduced or eliminated and the wear is, although not completely eliminated, greatly reduced as compared to the wear when riding on the peripheries of the rotors.

The embodiment of Figures 9 to 11 illustrates a modified form of belt, a modified manner of mounting the belt upon the rotors for lacing purposes and a modified system for supporting the belt in a condition of rest when it is not needed for lacing purposes. The embodiment of this figure is similar to the embodiment of Figure 611 except the shoulders 30 and 4c are omitted and instead the belt 16a rides directly on a narrow belt-receiving portion immediately adjacent the end of each rotor.

The belt-receiving portion in this embodiment is of the samediatmeter as'the' thread-carrying portion of theretors. In addition, a guide member 40 is disposed adjacent the path of the belt between the two rotors 3 and 4. The guide 40 may be a fixed rod or a rotor, but its axis in either case is inclined in such a manner as to compensate for the advancement imparted by the inclined rotor of the system 3, 4. Thus, guide 40 has its axis inclined out of parallel with the .axis of rotor 3 in a direction opposite to the inclination of rotor 4. Since the strand path about the periphery of guide 40 is much less than the path about rotors 3 and 4, the angle of inclination of the axis of guide 40 must be far greater than the angle between the axes of rotors 3 and 4. The guide 40 may be rigidly secured to a rod 41 which is rotatably adjustable in a bore within a rod 42 which is rotatably adjustable in a bore of a fixed boss or sleeve 43 integral with the frame of the machine. Set screws 44 and 45 may be provided to set the adjustments just mentioned for providing any desired tilt of the axis of rod 46. In any event, the axis of guide 40 is tilted until the belt returns to rotor 30 in substantially the same radial plane as it is discharged therefrom, thereby preventing advance of the belt over the rotors 3 and 4 in spite of the lack of flanges, shoulders, or grooves on or in the rotors for retaining the belt on-the belt-receiving portions. of the rotors .3. and4- f Fixed members 711 and 8a are disposed. adjacent the shafts 5 and 6 for supporting the belt in a condition of rest off the rotors as in Figure 6a.

In this embodiment (Figures 9 to 11), the belts and forms of projections shown in the previous embodiments may be used. However, amodified belt is shown (see particularly Figure 11) which may be formed of one or more lengths of flexible belting material 1612, the ends of which are joined as by riveting at 16b. A belt lap end at the point or points of riveting provides a projection 17a or a plurality thereof which adequately serve the purposes of the projections. heretofore described.

The material of which the belt is made in the various embodiments may be conventional belting material such as of rubber or other elastomeric materials with a fabric or cord reinforcement. When it is desired to slip the belt off and on after and before lacing operations as just described, it should have suificient flexibility and resiliency to allow whatever stretching is required to cause displacement of the belt oif the ends of the rotors and for this purpose the belt may be of solid rubber construction without fabric or cord reinforcement.

When using a lacing system in which the belt is adapted to be shifted from an inoperative position on a support (such as on shaft 5 in Figure 6 or on 7a in Figure 6a'and 9 adjacent the end of the rotor system) to an operative position upon belt engaging surfaces, the belt may normally rest in its inoperative position during operation of the thread-advancing system. When it becomes necessary to lace up the system, either as a result of breakage in the strand or the starting out of a new strand on the machine, the operator may or may not stop the rotor system from rotation as he chooses, slip the belt onto its belt-engaging surfaces for driving it with the rotors, then start rotation of the rotors if they are not already rotating, lacing the thread or strand thereabout as described hereinabove, and after completion of the lacing, forcing the belt 0d the belt-engaging surfaces into its inoperative position either upon a shaft such as 5 or upon a support such as 7a, where it remains until the next lacing is necessary.

The system of the present invention may be provided upon canted roll systems used for many purposes including the handling of natural and synthetic yarns or other strands, such as the artificial filaments produced by a continuous system from viscose or the like. The lacing system can be applied to either wet or dry strands and may be applied to thread-advancing devices using canted rotors for storing, liquid-treating, drying, or for effecting any other treatment of the strand. While the lacing system has been shown as applied to a thread-advancing rotor system consisting of two rotors mounted on canted axes, it is obvious that the same procedure can be applied to any thread-advancing rotor system comprising three, four or more rotors at least one of which is mounted on an axis inclined with respect to that of at least one other.

It is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for the handling of strands comprising at least two rotors, one of the rotors being mounted on an axis inclined with respect to that of the other to cause the advance of a strand in a helical path about the two rotors, a stationary guide adjacent the rotors for determining the strand-receiving position thereof, a belt, means for driving the belt adjacent to but outside the normal strand-carrying zone of the rotors, a member outside said zone projecting from the belt toward said position, and movable means disposed in said zone for limiting the advance of the helical convolutions.

2. Apparatus for the handling of strands comprising at least two rotors, one of the rotors being mounted on an axis inclined'with respect to that of the other to cause the advance of a strand in a helical path about thetwo rotors, a stationaryguide adjacent the rotors for determining the'strand-receiving position thereof, a belt, means for driving tthe belt adjacent to but outside the normal strand-carrying zone of the rotors, a member outside said zone projecting from the belt toward said position, and movable means disposed in said zone adjacent said strandreceiving position for limiting the advance of the helical convolutions.

3. Apparatus according to claim Z'in which the mov able means is a hinged plate, and spring latch means is provided for holding it in limiting position.

4. Apparatus for handling strand-s comprising two rotors, onermounted on an axis inclined to that of the other, a belt embracing the rotors in a region adjacent but outside the normal strand-carrying zone of the rotors, means on the rotors for maintaining the belt in said region during operation, a stationary guide adjacent the rotors to determine the strand-receiving position thereof, a lateral projection on the belt extending between it and said position and being disposed adjacent said position, and movable means disposed in said zone adjacent said strand-receiving position for limiting the advance of the helical convolutions. a

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the movable means is an arm extending from a pivotable lever, and lever means is provided for controlling the position of the movable means.

6. In a method of lacing a strand-advancing system which includes two spaced rotors which are rotatable and arranged for supporting successive portions of a running strand in a form of a helix, the steps of leading an advancing portion of the strand through a stationary guide which determines the strand-receiving position of the system and then along a path divergent with respect to its normal path from said guide to the strand-receiving end of the zone in which said helix is normally supported during rotation of the rotors, then engaging said portion of the strand with a member which travels in a path encompassing both 'rotors adjacent said strand-receiving position and outside said zone, restraining the progress of convolutions of the strand lengthwise of said rotors at a point within said zone adjacent the strand-receiving end of the system until a plurality of convolutions thereof is collected to form a band, and releasing the band and detaching the strand from the member whereupon said band advances toward the strand-discharging end of the system and convolutions of the helix are formed uniformly along the length of said rotors.

7. In a method of lacing a strand-advancing system which includes two spaced rotors which are rotatable and arranged for supporting successive portions of a running strand in the form of a helix, the steps of leading an advancing portion of the strand through a stationary guide which determines the strand-receiving positions of the system and then along a path divergent with respect to its normal path from said guide to the receiving end of the zone in which said helix is supported during operation of the rotors, then engaging said portion of the strand with a member which travels in a path encompassing both rotors adjacent said strand-receiving position and outside said zone, restraining the progress of convolutions of the strand lengthwise of said rotors at a point within said zone adjacent the strand-receiving end of the system until a plurality thereof is collected to form a band, severing said advanced portion of the strand adjacent the member, and releasing the band whereupon said band advances toward the strand-discharging end of the system and con- Volutions of the helix are formed uniformly along the length of said rotors.

8. In a method of lacing a strand-advancing system which includes two spaced rotors which are rotatable and arranged for supporting successive portions of a running strand in a form of a helix, the steps of leading an advancing portion of the strand through a stationary guide which determines the strand-receiving position of the system and then along a path divergent with respect to its normal path from said guide to the strand-receiving end of the zone in which said helix is supported during rotation of the rotors, then engaging said portion of the strand with a member which travels in a path encompassing both rotors adjacent the strand-receiving position and outside said zone, restraining the progress of convolutions of the strand lengthwise of said rotors at a point within said zone adjacent the strand-receiving end of the system until a plurality of convolutions thereof is collected to form a band, detaching said advanced portion of the strand from the member, pulling the band toward the strand-receiving position to condense the convolutions and to attach said advanced portion to the band, and then releasing said band to allow it to proceed to the strand-discharging end of the system.

Nefi May 30, 1944 Barker Mar. 13, 1951 -Mm mar-Ii my: 

